Room 3 Class Routines

This is a copy of the newsletter that was sent home in Week 2 before the 'Meet the Teacher' evening.


Dear Parents/Caregivers

Welcome to 2011. Your child has made a wonderful start and I am looking forward to working with you and them this year. This year I am encouraging the children to be more independent in their routines. I hope that the information on this handout will provide you with an insight so that you can encourage them whenever possible.
A reminder that school starts at 8.55am, but the children need to be at here 8.45am, at the latest so they can organise their belongings and be ready to start school when the bell goes. Thank you for having your child’s equipment and stationery organised to start the term with.

TERM ONE
This term we will be concentrating on establishing classroom routines, literacy and numeracy, and setting our personal goals. In addition to these, we have swimming and the Keeping Ourselves Safe programme.

Reading – Instructional lessons are Monday through to Thursday. Some children may read with another teacher in another class. Each day the children will bring reading home. The text that your child brings home may be the book they have read that day in an instructional reading session, or a book of their own choosing from their browsing basket. Generally it is desired that the book be reasonably easy in order to encourage “smooth reading” but your child may need assistance with new vocabulary. Smooth reading is when the reading is fluent, sounds like normal talking and has some expression. Your child will bring home a poem on Friday that you can read together. It is important that your child works on their reading skills as this develops self-confidence and ensures success in many curriculum areas. They will bring a yellow reading log home each night. Please sign this to provide me with an indication that reading is being done at home. This book may be used as a form of communication between home and school if you wish.

Religious Education – The children have an exercise book that will have sheets glued into it. It may come home from time to time. Please could these be returned to school each day, even if the activity has not been completed.

Maths – Please practise counting forwards and backwards in 1’s and 2’s up to 20. As your child becomes more confident and accurate, then extend this counting to include 5’s and 10’s up to 100; basic facts to include all the addition and subtraction sums for 5, 10 and 20.

Spelling – Children in Room 3 are given spelling words to learn from the SMART words programme. A new list is given to the children on Monday and tested on Friday. Because the words are in family groups the learning of these words may be easier once your child has learnt the rule. A guide to the teaching of spelling will be glued into the back of your child’s spelling notebook.

Library - Information regarding library times will be sent home when our new library is set up.

Drink bottles – The children are encouraged to have a plastic bottle of water in the classroom to drink from during the course of the day.

Clothing - All clothing must be named.

Shoelaces - It is great that some children in Room 3 are able to tie their own shoelaces. This is a valuable life skill that gives the children independence and self-confidence. It would benefit your child if someone at home could spend time assisting them to develop this skill.

Uniform – The children must leave at the end of the day in their uniforms, including shoes. During the day, girls may remove their tunics if they have shorts underneath but must put them back on at the end of the day. Please ensure that girls come to school with their hair tied back off their faces.

Sport – Please ensure that your child wears their sports uniform to and from school each Thursday and Friday as s/he will be involved in PE/Sports activities.

Absences/appointments – Please inform school (note, email or phone call) if your child is absent or has an appointment that requires them to leave school early. This will ensure that I have them ready for you to collect.

Classroom Blog – We have a class blog in Room 3. It will be used as a diary of things that we are doing at school and can be accessed through a web address.
It will include:
• Photographs of the children participating in classroom/school activities
• Examples of children’s writing and other work
• Things that we are learning
Only children’s first names will be used on the blog and no names will be attached to a photograph. You will be able to write/post comments to the children. Every comment that is posted onto our blog will be checked, before they are uploaded. Please let me know if you do not want your child’s photo or work to be put onto the blog.
Our blog address is: http://room3shsinv.blogspot.com/

Communication Tree – This year I would like to start an email tree to ensure that communication between school and home is strong. I will email you with any relevant messages relating to your child and class activities. Copies of notices/messages will also be sent home in your child’s home folder as required. I am free to discuss any matter before or after school but from 8.40am I would like to be in the classroom for the children so please ensure that you phone or email me for an appointment.


Thank you

Welcome to the Room 3 class of 2011

It is a new school year and we have a 'new' Room 3 class. We are excited to be back so we can play with our friends and learn new things.

One of the first things that we have done this year is we painted one of our hands so that it can go on our classroom door.



This is to let other people know who is in our class.

We look forward to keeping you up-to-date with the comings and goings of our class activities. Enjoy!

Red Nose Day - 19th November 2010

Today is Red Nose Day. We have been able to buy red noses at school to raise money for Cure Kids. Check out how great we look! If you know us, can you figure out who we all are?

Bubbles

Yesterday Room 3 blew bubbles outside on the grass. Some bubbles blew away across the schools roof and then popped. The colours were orange, blue, pink, red, purple and green. The bubbles were see-through. When we looked inside them we could see a rainbow inside them.
Brooklyn M


On Tuesday morning we went outside on the grass. Most of Room 3 got to blow some bubbles. Some bubbles escaped. Some floated high, some floated low and some floated over the school.. Most of Room 3 children popped the bubbles.
Alex H

On Tuesday 26 October Greta blew the bubbles. The bubbles went faraway. We looked at the colours in the bubbles. We blew the bubbles outside on the green grass.
Jared


On Tuesday most of the class blew bubbles. We popped the bubbles and they were sticky. Some floated away. The bubbles had rainbows inside them. The colours were pink and yellow. Some bubbles were stuck together.
Emma

On Tuesday 27th of October Room 3 went outside to blow bubbles. Some floated in the sky and they looked like eyes in the sky. They were different colours as well. Room 3 liked the pop the bubbles. We were outside the school and it was fun.
Brooklyn F



On Tuesday the 27th of October 2010 we went outside onto the wet grass to blow some bubbles. Most of the class got to blow bubbles. The bubbles were see-through and colourful. The colours were blue, purple and yellow. Some bubbles were stuck together. They were really sticky. Most people took their shoes off and were in bare feet. We were near the stone playground. Lots of the bubbles popped on Nick. Everyone wanted to pop the bubbles. The bubbles floated up high and back down again. They flew as high as the trees. It was fun.
Breyah

On Tuesday in the morning before playtime, Room 3 went outside with Miss Swney. Most of the class had a turn at blowing bubbles. The bubbles kept blowing away.
Alex M

Peking Duck Visit

I brought my peking ducklings to school and I got to pick them up in my hands. All of the children were patting the ducklings. The mother duck wasn't a good mother because she didn't sit on the eggs. So we got a bantam to sit on the eggs.
George

Room 3 got to see George's ducklings and it was fun looking at the ducklings. The ducklings looked something like a yellow duck. They had little beaks.
Luke

George's ducklings were cool and they were beautiful. I liked the ducklings. They were yellow and only four days old.
Hannah



The mother duck was not good at looking after her ducklings so George's dad got a bantam. She sat on the eggs to make them warm. The ducklings were cute. They were yellow.
Sam

On Wednesday George's Dad brought Peking ducklings to school. They were four days old. There were three ducklings and I got to lift them up. I also got to take a photo of them. They were soft and fluffy. I got to stroke them. The ducklings mum wouldn't sit on the eggs so George's dad got a bantam to sit on the eggs.
Reid

On Wednesday the 20th of October George brought ducklings to school. The ducklings were four days old and they were cute and cuddly. The mother duck wasn't a good mother so George's dad got a bantam to sit on the eggs. The bantam was fluffy as. She had her mouth open because she was worried.
Xanthe

On Wednesday George brought three ducklings and a bantam to school. The ducklings were yellow. The mother was not happy. She had her mouth open. She tried to peck me but I saw her in time so she didn't peck me. I had a great day.
Matthew

The BIG Snow

In the weekend we played in the snow. To make a snowman you get a little bit of snow and roll it. You keep rolling the ball until it is big enough. My snowman had a carrot for it's nose and it had my scarf on. We used stones of the eyes. In the morning I saw lightning.
Greta

In the weekend I made a snowman. You have to roll snow into a ball. Then you leave it. You make another snowball and do it again and again. You put a carrot for the nose and buttons for the eyes.
Oliver



On Saturday it snowed. It happened at night. It was cold. In the morning when I woke up, I looked out the window. It was snowing so I went to Mum and woke her up. I told her that the snow was there.
Jasmine

In the weekend I saw some snow on the ground and my cat went outside. She couldn't find the cat box so she pooed on the trampoline. In the morning she jumped on my bed.
Max

On Saturday my Dad made a snowman and when he was finished we put a hat on it. We went inside after we had a snowball fight.
Paris



In the weekend I was making a snowman. I was playing a snow fighting game. I think my boots liked the snow.
Caleb

On Saturday my mum made a snowman. She had fun making it. It was very cold when I helped Mum build the snowman.
Mackenzie

Pompom Update

We finally finished winding the wool around our two pieces of cardboard. The hole in the centre was so small that it was hard to push through any more wool.


We needed to ask the children from Room 8 to come and help us to cut our pompoms because it was very tricky.


Once the wool was cut from around the outside edge, a piece of wool was tied between the two bits of cardboard as tight as possible. Then we cut the two bits of cardboard and peeled them away.


Finally after a lot of hard work we have our pompoms. A big thank you to the parents that helped some of us and to the children from Room 8.